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g. LEIGH. I BOX. APPLICATION FILED JAN- 7.1916- Patented Dec. Z'SHEFTS-SHEETI I L FU, fittorney JTQUQ/UZJJ:

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BOX.

MPUCATION FILED JAN. 7, 1916 Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CHARLES Q. C. LEIGH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BOX.

a knock-down or foldable box or crate for fruit, vegetables, and the like.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a foldable box or crate that may be knocked down into a flat condition for shipment from the manufacturer to the consumer in order that they may be packed in large quantities in a comparatively small.

area, in railway cars, wagons or other vehicles, for transportation. 1

Another ob ect of my invention ls-the provision of a foldable box or crate that may be quickly and easily assembled in shape for the storage of commodities without the use of special tools and forms or the employment of a skilled mechanic.

Still another object is the provision of a receptacle of the type described that will permit the use of one of the side-walls 'as 'a cover and the same adapted to be hinged or flexibly secured to the upper edge of the adjacent side-wall.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a box or crate that is durable when in use, simple in construction, easy to operate, and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Further objects of my invention will be obvious to others skilled in the art to which it pertains, after an understanding is had of the accompanying specification and the drawings forming a part thereof.

In the drawings, similar reference characters are employed to designate the same parts throughout the divers figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box or crate made in accordancewith my invention, one of the side-walls whereof is raised slightly to illustrate the manner of using said wall as a cover. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 22, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail of one of the upper corners of the box or crate drawn to an enlarged scale and illustrating themanner of securing the cover. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of my improved box or crate in kno k d-d n er unfolded eon-an Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

Application filed January 7, 1916. Serial No. 70,728.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view, enlarged, of the manner of joining the corners of the box or crate.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly Figs. 1 and 4 thereof, it will be observed that my improved box or crate preferably comprises four substantially cor respondingly shaped side-wall sections that are disposed with their longitudinaledges abutting one another, as seen in Fig. 4, and are flexibly connected together by means of parallelflexible, metallic bands, 1010, that are stapled or otherwise secured in a continuous manner along the transverse end edges of said sections and parallel thereto. Each of the sidewall sections preferably comprises a substantially rectangular-shaped plate, 11, of wood, veneer, or the like, that is elongated longitudinally and at or ad-' jacent its transverse end edges is provided with suitable cleats, 12-12. The cleats are disposed in upright position upon the side wall section on the surface of said section that is adapted to form the interior of the box when the latter is assembled. The faces of the cleats opposite the side-wall section are provided with longitudinally elongated grooves, 1313, and the corners or ends of said cleatsare beveled or have portions cut away at an angle of approximately fortyfive degrees to the lower longitudinal edges,

so that, when the box is folded or assembled,

assho-wn in Fig. 1 of the drawings, these beveled surfaces are adapted to abut each other and the cleats will be disposed at right angles to one another, with the grooves alining and forming a continuous groove around the end of the box.

Suitable end-walls, 14, preferably of wood, veneer, or the like, and of substantially the same thickness or gage as the side-wall sections, are inserted in the grooves, 13, of the cleats heretofore mentioned, in order to'close the ends of the box when assembled.

The manner of assemblyis comparatively simple and is performed in the following manner :The end wall sections, 14, are placed upright in the cleats of the second side-wall from the left, as vsuggested in dotted lines, Fig. 4, and the two adjoining walls, I prefer to make small openings,

side-wall sections are raised to a vertical side-walls have been placed in the position shown in Fig. 1, that is, in an upright or vertical plane, suitable brads or small nails,

1616, are inserted into the recesses, 15, and the same are forced into or through the adjacent portion of the end walls, 14. This will provide an open box sothat the remaining side-wall section which is uppermost, may be closed down to form a cover or, if desired, may be thrown back to permit the box to be packed. When the cover or uppermost side-wall section has been placed in proper position to close the box, the ends of the flexible metallic binding strip which extend beyond theadjacent corner of the box are twisted together, as shown at 17 Fig. 3

r of the drawings, to firmly andrigidly remm the box in assembled position.

nails, 16, may either be withdrawn or permitted to fall out of the openings as they have then served their function, for it will be seen that the walls of the box are firmly held in position solely by the flexible metallic bands, 10. i

For the purpose of providing a suitable guide that will insure the registration of the grooves, 13, in the cleats in order to provide a continuous channel when assembly is made, I prefer to continue the groove down one beveled end face of each cleat to provide a recess, 18, while the opposite end face of each cleat is provided with a tongue, 19, upon its facing beveled portion. By means of this construction each tongue, 19, will fit into its opposing recess, 18, and thereby guide the cleats when, in the process of assembly, they are moved so as to become disposed at substantially right angles to each other.

lVhile I have herein shown certain specific means for carrying out my invention, I

After assembly and the box has been closed, the

box of desired section. Such modificationsv are understood as expressly included within the scope of my invention as expressed in the appended claim.

What I claim as new is A knock-down crate including a plurality of sections flexibly connected together by suitable wires the ends whereof extend beyond the end sections, the flexible strip so formed being adapted to be folded transversely to form front, back, top and bottom panels, cleats beveled at their ends secured to the side portions of the strip upon one face thereof, each of said cleats having a tongue extending from one end and a recess in its other end, said tongues being adapted to project into the recesses when the strip is folded, said cleats being formed with longitudinal grooves in their centrally facing faces, end panels adapted to be mounted within said grooves, the upper portions of the two vertically disposed cleats being provided with transverse openings therein, pins adapted to be inserted in the openings in said cleats and to engage the end panels, which pins constitute means for temporarily holding the front, back and bottom of the crate against the end panels.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 22nd day of December CHARLES o. o. LEIGH. Witnesses:

E. K. LUNDY, Jr., WM. HAROLD EICHELMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, I). G. 

